1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a power divider in waveguide form, for microwave power transmission circuits working at high power.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The techniques associated with high power millimetric and centrimetric waves are currently undergoing development because of generators and amplifiers such as gyrotrons.
There already are existing waveguide power dividers. Two types have been developed extensively: Y type and T type dividers. These dividers are formed by an input waveguide which gradually changes shape so as to obtain two output waveguides. The unit has a T shape or a Y shape.
These power dividers enable the power introduced into the input guide to be divided into two equal or unequal parts. This depends on the dimensions of the section of the waveguide forming the three arms of the T or Y. When all three arms have the same section, the power transmitted in the two output waveguides will be half the power injected at input. These power dividers are also called 3 dB couplers.
If it is desired to divide the power introduced at input into more than two equal parts, several T or Y dividers should be series mounted. However, this type of assembly cannot be used to achieve division by an odd number or by an even number which is not a power of two. Moreover, power dividers of this type are generally quite bulky, especially if several of them have to be series mounted to obtain a division by a value which is a power of two.
An object of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks by presenting a power divider, in waveguide form, which is compact and makes it possible to obtain, in each of the n output waveguides, a fraction of the power injected into the input waveguide, where n may be a whole number greater than or equal to 2. This number n is, however, restricted to the quantity of output waveguides that can be juxtaposed mechanically.
The power divider permits the transmission of high power. It is made by the juxtaposing of several waveguide sections (hereinafter called "pieces"). It has a particularly compact shape, even if the number n of output waveguides is quite large. It works in the rectangular TE.sub.10 mode, which is the fundamental mode of rectangular section waveguides. This mode is frequently used in microwave power transmission circuits.